Paediatric Ward

The Cabrini Paediatric Ward is a 12-bed inpatient ward and includes a nine-chair day room. We care for children who have a range of medical and surgical conditions.

Family-centred care

Our philosophy of ‘family-centred care’ means we place our patients and their family at the very heart of our healthcare delivery. Embedded in our philosophy is the understanding that parents remain the most knowledgeable and committed advocates for their children. Most studies show that children who have their families and significant others included and involved in their care, have a greater recovery rate and shorter length of stay in hospital.

Our staff

The nurses are a highly motivated team – including experienced, recently graduated nurses – who aim to achieve the best outcome for every young patient. Each nurse cares for four to six patients, depending on the patient population and their needs. As well as the nurses, there is also a nurse in charge of each shift.

Patient safety

The safety of our patients is of the upmost importance at the Paediatric Ward. As we want to ensure your child’s safety, you may notice that during the hospital stay you or your child will be asked questions about allergies, medical history and procedures multiple times. Your child will be assessed by our nurses for pressure injury and falls risk on a shift-by-shift basis. Some simple things make a difference to our patients’ safety and we ask that you assist by ensuring the following:

Cot sides and bed rails remain up at all times when a patient is in the cot or bed

Children are to be supervised at all times. If you cannot be in your child’s room, please see your nurse

Do not leave hot drinks within the children’s reach anywhere in the ward and please use cup lids

Rooms are to remain tidy and free of clutter. Nurses and medical staff need to be able to quickly access your child’s bedside in an emergency

Please do not leave meal trays on the floor as these will not be collected by food service staff and pose a falls risk for you, our patients and staff

Call and Respond Early (CARE)

The nursing and medical staff are trained in all facets of care including recognition and response to the deterioration of a patient’s condition. However, there may be times when you feel that there is something wrong with your child and the response or reaction of the staff is not adequate. The staff have adopted a ‘Call and Respond Early’ (CARE) program and it is recommended that you read the flier at the bedside which outlines what you can do in such a situation. Please ask your nurse if you have any questions or cannot locate a copy.

Feedback

We appreciate feedback and believe it is always best to hear from those who have experienced the care provided at the Paediatric Ward so that we have valuable, up-to-date information. While we like receiving positive comments, it is equally important to learn what did not go well so that we can make improvements.